Chapter 53
ALEX
“Alex, have you heard a word I’ve said?” Enzo asks.
He’s sitting opposite me, wine in hand. It’s been a long week, despite talking to Brooke every day.
“Sorry,” I say.
“You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind. Anything I can help with? I thought this week had gone well.”
“It has,” I say, shaking my head.
He shoots me a questioning glance.
Our eyes lock, and I feel heat rise up my neck. I grab the glass of wine he’s just topped up and take a large swallow.
He leans back and rubs his jaw, his brows furrowing, but his eyes never leave mine.
“A staring contest… You only do that when you’re covering something up, like the time you dented Dad’s Porsche.”
“I was eleven, and I fell over, not my fault. I was wheeling my bike.”
“Leaving the office in a rush on Friday, radio silence over the weekend. Crying off when I messaged you about going out for a drink.”
“I was busy getting ready for this week. It had been a long week, all the back-to-back meetings on my doorstep.”
He inclines his head and waves a hand in my direction.
“Then there’s this whole glow you’re giving off, like…no.”
“No, what?” I say before I can stop myself.
“Almost post-orgasmic,” he says with a chuckle, “or that might simply be the enormous hickey you were sporting on Monday morning.”
My hand flies to my throat, causing Enzo to laugh out loud. “It’s fine, I’m pulling your leg,” he admits.
“Very funny,” I say.
“However, I hit the mark,” he says, his face growing more serious. “Who is she? This woman who’s sent you into a tailspin.”
I press my forefinger and thumb into the inner corners of my eyes.
I draw in a breath. “Brooke,” I say.
“No one could have seen that coming,” he says sarcastically.
“What are you talking about?” I say, staring at him.
“Your attraction.” He rolls his eyes. “Come on, Alex. You couldn’t take your eyes off her at Christmas and, according to Gabbi, were like a bear with a sore head throughout New Year after Brooke cried off. I’m just surprised you’ve acted on it.”
“I…I didn’t intend to.” I unclip my watch strap before re-clasping it. “Her sister was rushed to hospital on Friday.”
“Is that when it happened?”
“Hell no, what do you take me for? I wouldn’t take advantage of someone who was upset.”
“Okay,” he says, holding up his hands. “But it happened over the weekend?”
“She came over. I wanted to update the packs after our discussions last week.”
I pause.
“And one thing led to another?”
“It was late, and I didn’t want her travelling home alone, so I suggested she stay in Gabbi’s room.”
“And she agreed?”
“It made sense. We hadn’t finished all the files.”
I know I’m over-explaining.
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up,” he says. “You don’t need to explain. I’m happy for you…Brooke’s great.”
“How can you say that?”
It’s Enzo’s turn to look confused. “I don’t understand.”
“You should be berating me. She’s closer to Avril’s age than she is to mine. I’m her boss. We’re at completely different stages in our lives. She comes from England…did I mention I’m her boss, and in a position of power?”
“So? You’re her boss. Was it consensual? I’m taking it, that it was.”
“Of course it was. What do you take me for?”
He shrugs. “Then I’m struggling to see what the real problem is here.” He folds his arms over his chest and stares me down. “I’m getting the impression it was more than a quick fuck? A quick bang to get it out of your system, and then you’d be done?”
I growl at him, and he raises an eyebrow.
“How does Brooke feel?” he asks, looking at me out of the corner of his eye.
“What?”
“Brooke? What’s the problem? Did she fuck you and run, hide in the bathroom?”
“Of course not, she stayed the night…and stop saying fuck,” I snap.
Enzo smirks before it turns to shock. “Oh.”
“She spent the night in my bed, in my arms,” I admit. “And then we spent the whole of Sunday, through to Monday morning together, until I came away.”
“Wow,” Enzo says. He’s rarely this lost for words, but it seems I’ve got him now.
He knows my thoughts on relationships and sex, and that, since Loretta, I’ve kept everyone romantically at arm’s length.
“How was she Monday morning?”
“She appeared fine.”
“I’m struggling to see what the problem is.
” He doesn’t wait for an answer. “I know she’s still in New York, as I’ve heard you on the phone with her multiple times this week, including late at night.
” He waggles his eyebrows, and I groan. “How is her sister, by the way? Did she not want to come to London with us to visit her family?”
“I asked her, but she said no. Her family told her to stay there.”
Enzo frowns.
“It’s weird,” I say, unsure I should be confiding this much in my brother, but out of everyone, he knows me best. “Listening to her speak to her family. They’re close. Yet she didn’t go back for Christmas, and no one has visited her since she arrived…I don’t know, something feels off, Enzo.”
“Hey, don’t read too much into it. Sometimes an emergency can make people see things in a different light.
It doesn’t mean she hasn’t had problems with her family.
This incident with her sister’s illness may have given them all a new perspective.
Life-and-death situations often make most issues shrivel into insignificance. ”
I know he’s right, but something in my gut tells me it’s more… or is that simply me trying to build barriers?
“When did you get so philosophical?” I ask.
He chuckles. “I have a teenage daughter. Everything’s a crisis. I’m just learning to pick my battles.”
Avril is flexing her teenage muscles, and with Enzo out of the country most of the time, my brother works hard to maintain a relationship with her.
“What’s next?”
I sigh.
“I don’t know,” I say, staring into my wine glass. “Everything happened so suddenly before I came away. I don’t know what’s going to happen when I get back. I’ve told her to think about it.”
“I take it you haven’t spoken to HR?”
I shake my head. It’s company policy for employees to disclose personal relationships, especially those involving a power imbalance. But ours only began over the weekend, and I was on a flight first thing Monday morning.
“Alex—”
“I know, but before I go storming in and laying out my private business in front of Sue, I want to know where we stand.”
“Do you think it was a one-off?”
I shrug, not wanting to put words into Brooke’s mouth before she’s had time to really think about what happened between us.
My mind wanders back to Monday morning’s shower and how it felt with Brooke’s lips wrapped around my cock, her tongue licking and teasing my slit, before I came hard all over her breasts.
Enzo stares at me for a moment. “Look, if you like her, put all the other crap you were spouting at me to one side.”
I go to open my mouth, but he holds up a hand.
“Brooke is the first woman I’ve seen you this invested in.
Yes, it’s early days, but don’t overthink and sabotage it without giving it a chance.
” He inclines his head. “She may be younger than you and your subordinate, but that woman is not your average twenty-four-year-old. There’s an air of maturity about her. ”
He’s not wrong.
I can’t deny it.
There’s something about Brooke that makes me wonder what she’s seen and what has her hiding away.
There’s so much I don’t know about her.
I’ve never felt this confused about a woman. But it was more than just the sex. Afterwards, I wanted to hold her all night, wake up with her and have breakfast with her… and we did.
“Can I give you a piece of advice?” he asks.
“I get the impression you’ll offer it anyway,” I say drily.
“Stop overthinking it. Enjoy the moment. Let her set the pace. Don’t railroad her, and if you really like her, woo her.” He chuckles. “I know you have it in you somewhere to be romantic.”
I harrumph. Do I? I’m not sure Loretta would agree.
Enzo gets up, placing his glass in the sink. “I’m going to call it a night, get some beauty sleep. Tomorrow is set to be a late one.”
Tomorrow is the final day of the London show before we fly to Milan. “You know where I am if you need me.”
I nod.
He pauses for a second, before leaving, and I wonder if he was about to say something else.
I stare at the door for a long time after he’s left before picking up the phone.
* * *
ME:
How’s your day going?
Three dots appear instantly.
brOOKE:
It’s coming to an end. The courier has just messaged to say the packs will arrive at the hotel in Milan tomorrow.
ME:
Thank you.
brOOKE:
You can thank me when you get home.
I dial her number. She answers on the first ring.
“Hey,” I say. “How are you?”
“It’s been a crazy day…week. With you, Teresa and Elise out of the office.”
“Only another two weeks to go.”
“Don’t remind me,” she groans.
“Missing me?”
“Yes,” she says bluntly. “Yes, if you could just leave it there.”
I chuckle. “Afraid of getting caught talking dirty to your boss, Ms Feldmann?”
She harrumphs.
“You wish.” She chuckles.
“I do. How’s your sister? Asking after your grumpy arse boss?”
I heard her on the phone with her sister over the weekend.
It was the first time Brooke had been able to speak to her because her sister had been heavily medicated.
She and her family appeared close. When she saw me in the doorway, she told them she was going to work.
I’m not sure if they realised it was Sunday.
“She’s doing much better. Her infection is clearing up. Hopefully she’ll be able to go home soon.”
“I’m glad she’s out of the woods.”
“Call me when you get home.”
“Will do…bye.”